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If you manage a call centre, trading floor or large open-plan workspace, you’re probably no stranger to noise. But what if that ambient buzz — conversations, keyboard clicks, ringing phones — wasn’t just a mild inconvenience, but a measurable business cost?
Emerging evidence shows it is.
A study in 1998 reported a 66% drop in performance for a ‘memory for prose’ task when participants were exposed to different types of noise[1]. A follow-up study, in 2005, found that 99% of the participants reported that their concentration was impaired by office noise such as unanswered phones and background speech[2].
In their 2016 joint report “What workers want 2016”, Savills and the British Council for Offices (BCO) noted that noise ranks highly amongst the factors impacting employee’s wellbeing[3] with:
· 71% of the interviewees saying that having quiet areas to work from is important to them;
· 70% dissatisfied with the acoustic solutions they currently have.
The 2019 study “What’s That Sound? The Impact of Office Noise on Workforce Productivity”[4] surveyed office workers in the UK, US and Australia, finding that:
· 55% feel that their workplaces are noisy;
· 79% said that noise makes it hard to concentrate on work;
· 62% agreed that reducing noise is critical to properly conducting business.
Recent studies continue to reinforce the message: there is a financial and human impact of noise in open office environments, especially given the increased worldwide sensitivity to noise after the pandemic.
A 2023 survey over 600 offices[5] shows that the lack of acoustic privacy is the top complaint in open-plan workspaces (54% of respondents) – outranking temperature (38%), air quality (25%) and even furniture comfort (20%). The presence of high background noise was noted by 35% of the respondents.
According to a 2024 study by Oscar Acoustics[6], more than half (56%) of UK office workers still describe their workplaces as noisy and thus prefer not to go back to the office. Even for offices where acoustic treatment with traditional solutions has been applied.
It is clear that in open offices there is now a fine line between privacy and (extreme) sociability (maintaining the definition of an open-plan workplace)[7].
For high-pressure sectors like financial services, where productivity and compliance are both critical, these figures translate directly to risk and revenue[8].
[1] Banbury SP. and Berry DC. (1998) Disruption of office-related tasks by speech and office noise, British Journal of Psychology 89:3, pp 499–517
[2] Banbury SP. and Berry DC. (2005) Office noise and employee concentration: identifying causes of disruption and potential improvements, Ergonomics 48:1, pp 25-37
[3] Savills & BCO Research (2016). What Workers Want 2016, available online
[4] Interface Inc (2019). What’s That Sound? The Impact of Office Noise on Workforce Productivity, available online.
[5] Parkinson, T., Schiavon, S., Kim, J., & Betti, G. (2023). Common sources of occupant dissatisfaction with workspace environments in 600 office buildings, Buildings and Cities, 4(1), pp. 17–35.
[6] The Hidden Barrier to Office Return: How Noise is Undermining UK Workers’ Productivity, Employer News, available online.
[7] Felipe Contin de Oliveira S, Aletta F, Kang J. (2023). Self-rated health implications of noise for open-plan office workers: An overview of the literature. Building Acoustics, 30(2):105-125.
[8] Fintech Times (2023), Roaring Decibels: Study Reveals How Noise Disrupts Finance Workers’ Productivity, available online.
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) outlines clear expectations for managing noise in workplaces — even in offices, where acoustic risk is often overlooked.
Under The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers must assess and mitigate noise where it could impact concentration, wellbeing, or verbal communication. While traditionally aimed at industrial environments, there is growing recognition that cognitive noise — noise that disrupts knowledge work — is equally harmful.
And while most offices don’t reach the 80 dB triggering employer’s actions[1], the impact on wellbeing and concentration can be massive, with five out of nine indicators indicating greater stress/lower mood[2] due to noise. This is why legislation and guidelines are picking up. Examples include:
The ISO 22955 (2021) standard (on acoustic quality in open offices) defines acceptable noise levels and strategies for mitigation in different types of offices, encouraging the use of noise-management materials to improve acoustic privacy and focus.
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The UK Government Workplace Design Guide (2022) recommends the use of appropriate acoustic measures (like desk dividers) to support privacy and confidentiality[3].
[1] Broughton K., Patel J.A. (2003), Noise Exposure Levels in Call Centres, Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics, available online.
[2] Steve Smethurst (2022), Sound and fury in the open-plan office, IOSH Magazine.
[3] Government Property Agency (2022), Government Workplace Design Guide, available online
While these realities present a challenge, they also present a rare opportunity: to redesign your workplace for peak performance.
Office noise, if addressed effectively, can become a competitive differentiator — a way to retain talent, reduce sick leave, and enhance client interactions. Leading firms are already making strategic acoustic investments that not only meet compliance, but also:
• Boost concentration in high-value roles
• Improve employee sentiment and retention
• Reduce the frequency of errors in client communications
• Support neurodiverse employees who may be more sensitive to auditory distractions
At Metasonixx, we specialise in addressing these problems using advanced acoustic metamaterials. In a recent survey in multiple open plan offices between Europe and US, we found that 65-70% of workers wish for more silence at the office, even when traditional acoustic solutions are applied.
We also found that, in open offices with traditional separators, no more than one person every three feels they can concentrate and work at their best, due to noise.
This is why we are so excited that innovative metamaterials, like ours, are coming up and that they are so effective in improving perceived acoustic privacy in offices, without compromising on lightning.
Get in touch to know more!
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